The combination padlock developed by applicant and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,117,698 titled “High Security Padlock Construction”, is one of the most secure padlocks for mid-size combination padlocks. However, in today's market, people would like to have a more secure combination mechanism and also a secondary mechanism, such as a key overriding mechanism to open the combination padlock. This is particularly applicable to the cycle lock market (i.e., bicycles and bikes) because the value of the bicycle and bike is high, which increases the demand for a higher security level of combination padlock and a combination padlock which has a better anti-pick mechanism. There is also a demand for a padlock having a secondary opening mechanism, as users can have a choice of using a combination and/or a key mechanism to open the lock without having trouble finding the key or remembering the code. The present invention of a novel combination padlock addresses these needs in the art by improving the anti-pick mechanism and providing a key mechanism to override the combination mechanism to open the lock without difficulty.
In the mechanisms of the padlock shown in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 7,117,698, all of the extended fins of the clutches align to the lock opening slot of the lock body and with that, the spindle can then be pushed upward. The extended fins of the clutches engage the teeth of the dials in the lock mode, which makes the clutch turn as the dial turns in the lock mode. The drawback of this lock is that it will be difficult to make the faulty notches in the lock body with this setup because it is very time consuming and costly to make the faulty notches in the lock body. Additionally, a button is required to be pushed for opening the padlock. This may allow an intruder to attempt to use a hammer to break and open the lock. The present invention further addresses these shortcomings of the art.